Stig Östlund

måndag, januari 24, 2011

Albania's parliament launches probe into violence, more rallies planned


Albania's parliament authorized an investigation on Sunday into Friday's anti-government protest that caused three deaths and rising tension between the government and the opposition Socialist Party.

The 140-seat legislature passed with 70 votes a motion to probe all aspects of what Prime Minister Sali Berisha termed as the coup d'etat by the Socialist Party and the role of the institutions.
Berisha said he would not tolerate a fresh violence.

On Friday, the protest organized by the opposition Socialist Party against what it sees as corruption and election fraud by Berisha's government turned into a three-hour violent clash between police and protesters.
Protesters pelted the government building and the police before them with stones, sticks, umbrellas and whatever they could get their hands on. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, stun grenades and water cannons to disperse them.

Three people died from gunshots in the chaos. One was shot in the head and the other two in the chest.
Video footage of the violence on TV showed that live bullets were fired from within the compound of the government building as police tried to push back the protesters.

Bloggarkiv